farrall



G. A. PARRALL.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1.'

(No Modl.)

BEET HARVESTER.

'Nq/199,782. PatentedJune zo, 1893.

Wiwewe/r.

fr :I l MU.

GA. A'.1FARRALL.

` 4v Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

y BBET HARVESTER. l No. 499,782. Patented June'ZO, 1.893.'

l .,w. N

`3. M e h s n... e e h s .4 Tu... Lm Am RE Rm A FU. Am .E GB mf d o M o m Patented June 20,1893

v `4 Sheets-'Sheet 4. G. A. -FARRALL.

" BEET HARVESTER.

Iamemged June zo, 1893,.4

lim)

ef/ Q infami-ar.

the following is a specification.

UNITED STATES t ATENT Fries.

TO TI-l Ey JOHNSTON HARVESTER COMPANY, OF SAME- PLACE.

er; ET-HAhvEsTER.

srEcmcA'rIoN forming pm of :peters Patent No. 499,782, dated June 20, 1893.

` Application mq'aumh 7.1392.y 'genuina 423.975. (No man.)

To all whom it'my concern:

Beit known that I., GEORGE ALBERT FAR- RALL, acitizen of the United States, residing at Batavia, in the county of Genesee and State 'of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Beet-Harvesters, of which My inventionrelates to a machine which is .designed forharvestingsugar beets and which first cuts the tops off the beets and then digs the beets out of the ground.

In the accompanying'drawings consisting of .four sheetsz--Figure- 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine.v Fig. 2 isa top plan view thereof. Fig. 3 isa longitudinal section thereof. Figfei is a perspective View of the hood for brushing down thetops of thebeets. Fig..5 is a front elevation of the cutter mechanism with the frame in a cross section taken in line .r-w, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section ofthegage mechanism in line (v -x,

' Figij.- Fig. 7 is a-top plan view of the cutter and its guidesypartly in section. Fig. 8 is a cross section thereof in line .fc-zr, Fig. 7. Fig. 9' is a longitudinal section thereof in line y-y, Fig. 7. Fig. 10is a top plan view of the rear clearing finger and con neciing parts. Fig. 11 is a rear elevation thereof. spective view of the roller which may beused for brushing down the tops. Fig. 13 is a iop plan view showing a modified form of the cutter.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The frame of the. machine nconsists essentially of a front crossbar A, a rear cross bar A', two pairs of longitudinalside bars c, and a pairof inner longitudinal bars a a2. The

latter extend forwardly beyond the front' cross bar A.`

B represents thetongue provi-ded with a rear portion b which is preferably made of metal. rlhis rear port-ion is bent downwardly and pivoted to the under side of the front 'cross bar A at the middle` of the latter, and

terminates behind'said pivot, in avertic'al ear b.

C is a' sliding bar' which is 'arranged transversely upon-the front portions of the innerl longitudinal 'bars a. 0.2, which latter arel provided with straps c in which the bar slides.

Fig. 12 is a perv j 'ed by a hand lever C which lis pivoted to the inner longitudinal bar-sla' and which has its handle in convenient reach'of the operator who occupies the seat C2.

D represents the ground wheels upon which the machine runs, and which are arranged between the side bars a.

d represents the axles upon which the ground wheels are mounted and which extend inwardly to the inner longitudinal bars a a2, which latter carry journals in which the inner ends of the axles turn. The two side bars on opposite sidesI of. the same wheel are separated a suicient distance to permit each' ground-wheel to be shifted lengthwise upon its 'axle whereby the distance between'the ground wheels can be increasedL or decreased as may be necessary to cause the wheels to properly run between the rows of plants.

--d' represents sprocket /wheels mounted upon the axles .by means of ratchet devices of ordinary construction,l which cause' the sprocket wheels to be turned by the forward rotation of the ground wheels, but permit each ground wheel to turn backwardly without turning itssprocket wheel.

e represents a transverse shaft arranged ou the front portion ofthe Inain frame and driven vfrom-the sprocketwheels d by ldrive chains e' run ning around said sprockety wheels, and smaller sprocket wheels e2 securedto the transverse shaft. The latter is provided at one end with a bevel wheel E. 4

'f represents the shaft of the cutter mechansm arranged longitudinally on the outer side of the bevel wheel Eand provided at its front end with a crank wheel F and on its rear portion with a clutch sleeve f which slides on a feather in the shaft and is pressed forward by a spring f2.

f3 represents a bevel pinion which meshes vwith the-bevel wheel E and is mounted on a hollow shaft which-turns loosely on the shaft ICO f. The bevel pinion is provided on its rear sidewith a clutch face j" with which the which the hollow shaft turns.

' which the lower end gaged and whereby the effective upwardl. secured to the bar a2.

depressed at the will of the driver, t so clutch sleeve is whereby motion istransmitted from the transverse shaft e to the longitudinal shaftf. The clutch .sleeve can' be disengaged from the bevel .pinion by a lever g which has-its fulcrum on an arin G formed ona bearing gin desired to stop the' rotation of the cutter shaft, this lever is shifted todisengage the .clutch coupling and locked in this positionv t by a hook 0 g2 engaging with an main frame. t

H represents a pivoted elbow bar by which the cutter mechanism and the gage mechanism are supported. This har an outer portion h arranged lengthwise of the machine underneath the'cutter shaft, and a transverse portion h which' extends inwardlyfrom the front end of the outer portion and terminates underneath thel inner bar of the main frame. The outer portion of this supporting bar is'piv'oted-with its rear end in'longitudinal sockets h2 whereby the transverse portion of the bar is enabled to swing vertically. The free end of this supportlng bar is carried by a spring e' which is secured tothe bar a2 and has its free end con-l nected by a rod 1l' with an arm #arranged underneath the bar a2 and connected with the free end of the transverse supporting bar by ahook or link is, Fig. 5. The arm 'i2 is provldedwith a series of holes in any one lof of the rod z" can been eye on the pressure of the spring can be regulated so as to carry agreaterorless proportion of the weight which is supported by the transverse bar. When the growth is rank, the spring is adjusted to carry less of the weight, and when` :54o

the growth is light, the spring is adjusted to carry a greater portion of the weight. ,The arm z2 is formed at the yfront end of a'longitudinal 'shaft I which is journaled in bearings Thisshaft is provided at its rear end with an inwardly projecting foot-lever 4 which the d'river can depress with his foot, and whereby the transverse supporting bar and the parts attached thereto, can be forinstance when it is desired to cut an unusually low or thick top beet.

J represents the pitman which is attached with its outer end to the wrist'pin'of the crank wheel F and extendsinwardly to the reciprocating cutter blade K which slides between guides j.' The latter are secured to the lower horizontal portion Z of an angle pla'teL which is secured withV the upper end of its vertical front portion Z to the pivoted-supporting bar H. The guides incline inwardly as represented in 'Fig.'9,so that as the cutter 1s movedinwardly, the curvature of the guides -willcausy its edge tomove through the lower portion of an arc which is approximately hori-1 zontal. The outer ends of the guides are 'ele` engaged by the spring amd When itis.

is composed ofy and. the Vcu't'- ter and guidesf are curved inthe direction of ,their length or transversely of' the machine, l

yVat'ed because thecrank wheel is arranged lthis and produce an approximately horizontal `cut,.the guides andvcutter are curved in the arc of a circle turned with its convex side downward and'having its center nearly ovel the inner ends of the guides j, so' that the sweep of the cutting edge takes place'in the larc ofY a circle which is not far out of a horizontal line.

The inner edge k of the eutter,Fig. 7, is arranged lengthwise ofthe machineand is made slightly` convex. This edge cutsduring the forward movement ofthe cutter. In order to enable the cutter to cut also on the return stroke, the front edge la of the cutter, which" edge is arranged transversely ot`= they machine," has the form of a hollowreceding angle or concave,l forming a V-shaped cutting edge,

the outer portion ofwhich cuts on the return l stroke and severs that portion of theubeet which has remaineduncutduring the forward stroke. The inner front corner of the .knife in advancing cuts a slit into the beet into which the knife moves asthe machine is drawn forward and the concave front edge of the knife completes the cut on the return stroke. [f desired, the cutter blade may he provided with an oblique cutting edge k2 which extends froml the front side to the rear side ofthe blade as represented in Fig. 13, and whichv is" so long -as to `extend across the row of beets in all positions of the, blade, which latter is operated with a rather short stroke. 7c3 representsa scraper bar which is 'secured to the` gui-des above the inner portion of the cutter. M, Figs. 1,3, 5 and 6, represents a gage bar or shoe which 'regulates the depth of cuf by riding on the tops of the beets and whichremains resting thereon until the top -has been l out oit. This gage consists of a bar which is curved upwardly at its front. andv attached with its upper'front end to the'transverse sup-l porting bar and which extends rearwardly fromits curved front portion towardthe rear end of the knife. l This bar is comparatively narrow and therefore -works its way through the leaves on top of thebeet and rides upon L the solid top. The main portion,I which forms the foot or runner of the bar, is arranged at a suitable height above theveutter so that the cut is edected at the desired height belowth'e top of the beet..j.The upper frontend-of the gagebar is adjustably attached to thetransverse supporting bar H by a slot and screw bolt, as representedin Figs. 3 and 601' other I suitable'means, toadjust the height of the bar" tothe condition of the crop, -Inf order to pre- A vent this gage' bar'from runningolf the beet f on either side, a .narrowgage-'roller m 1s ard.

cured to as ool m which is journaled injhan if# ,ranged on each side'of thebar. These rollers also run on the: top of the beet .and are seers m2 secured lto the transvtr'se supporting` bar. The lower edges or faces of the gage rollers are on va level with the lower face of the 499,782 y a y gage bar. In order to prevent t-hc transverse barfrorn being sprung backward by the pressure against` the front of the gage and' cutter mechanisms, a stop m3 is secured tothe frame bar a in such a position as to bear against the rear side of the transverse bar, Figs. 1 and 5. The supports of the gage rollers are adjustably attached to the supporting bar so that the rollers can be adjusted to correspond with the gage bar.

N, Figs. 7 and 9,' represents a star shaped clearing wheel which is supported on the cut- 1 ter and brushes away, during the forward stroke, the leaves which have been cut ot and -liavefallen near the cutter. This stai' wheel is arranged transversely in rear of the cutter and pivoted to a bracket n attached to the upper side of the cutter. Y

n. represents a pawl which is pivoted upon the bracket ny and engages with a ratchet rim Ir formed on the hub of the star wheel, thereby holding thestar wheel against rotation during the forward stroke of the cutter but permitting the same to rotate -on its return stroke. This causesthe lowertooth of the star wheel to remain rigidly in an operative position during its forward stroke for the purpose of clearing away the cnt leaves and permits the star wheel to'rotate during its return stroke whereby the wheel is prevented Y from dragging back the cut leaves.

O, Figs. 2, 10 and 11, represents a clearing iinger which is arranged at a greater distance in rear of the knife and which brushes the leaves away during the backward strokeof the knife. This finger is attaehed'to. the rear end of a horizontal rock-leverOwhch is pivoted to the under side of the front cross bar A- ofthe main frame and actuated by a transverse rod O2` connecting it with the pitman of the cutter. The finger O is pivoted by a bolt 03 toa depending ear O4 formed on the rock lever O. 4This ear is providedwith stops 'O5' O6 against which the upper end'of the finger bears and which allowthe finger to assume a position more'nearly perpendicular during its effective forward stroke than during its return stroke.

P represents the digger-frame which is arrangedbetween the inner longitudinal bars a a2 of the main frame and which carries the digging implements. `This frame is pivoted to the upright ear b at' the rear end of the tongue, by a horizontal bolt p. This bolt exceeds somewhat in length the width of the parts which are attached to it,-so thatsuiii cient play is afforded for shifting the-tongue on its pivot, so that the frame can be raised and lowered in the main frame. The `digger frame consists of two side parts eachA composed o f an upright .bar Q, a handle bar Q which i extends from the pivot p rearwardly past the upper end of the upright'bar Q to' the vicinity of the seat, and abrace Q2 which extends from Said pivot to the upright bar below the upper end thereof. The rontportion of the handle bar vand the brace converge forwardly' in each side part ofthe digger frame and the two side parts also converge forwardly. I

R represents diggers which are attached to the lower ends of the upright bars Q and which point forwardly in a downwardly inclined position so as to enter the ground and dig up the beets.

S represents colterdisks which are attached to the digger frame above the diggers for the purpose ofcutting and vremoving the leaves in advance of the diggers. Each of these disks is journaled upon the rear end of a draft rod `s'which latteris curved upwardlywith its front-end and pivoted to the lower end of a depending bracket s secured to .the brace Q2 thereby permitting the disks to freely adjust themselves to the lin'e of draft.

@represents upright clearingarms whereby the accumulation of ground upon the diggers is prevented especially when the ground is, wet. These clearing -arms are arranged with their lower operative ends ovex' the diggers andfconnected with their upper endsto a cross bar Q3 of the digger frame by links s4. An up and down and backward and forward movement is imparted to the clearing armsby a transverse crank shaft .$5 which is journaled in bearings secured' to the upright bars Q and has its cranks connected with the clearing f IOO The drive vation, either for digging at agreateror less depth or for carrying the digging implements clear of the ground.

gli su verge from the pivot bolt of the tongue rearwardly to' the rear cross bar Aof the lnain frame. j T represents a hood which is suspended Irepresent diagonal braces which Adifrom the tongue in front of the cutter meehanism and which servesfto press 'down the tops of the beets .before they are operated upon bythe cutter mechanism.V The top of this hood slopes backwardly and the'. sides converge backwardly whereby the tops are gathered andpressed down. This hood is suspended from the tongue by hangers t arranged at' the front end of the hood and a' horizontal bolt t. passing through the saine and the tongue. The' hood is provided with a rearwardly projecting supporting bar t2 which rests upon the -..=ansverse supporting bar lilof the cutter mechanism and rises and falls with the same.` Instead of V.this hood a transirgerse roller T may be used-Q as repre- 35 gage bar, substantially as set forth.

sented in Fig. 12, but I prefer the hood because it gathers the tops while the roller spreads them.

I prefer to combine the top-cutting m'ech- 5 anism and the digging mechanism in -the same machine but it is obvious that they may be used in separate' machines, one ot' which cuts the tops and so'prepares the beets for digging, and the other of whichdigs the beets.

I claim as my invention* l. The combination with the cutter mechanism and the vertically movable supportsv to which it is attached, of a vertically movable hood arranged in advance of the cutter mechl anism and supported on the vertically movable support-of the cutter mechanism, substantially as set forth.

2. rlihe combination with the cutter-mechanism and the vertically movable support to zc which it is attached, of ahood arranged in advance of the cutter-mechanism, hangers to Y which the hood is hung, and a supporting bar attached to the hood and resting uponthe support of the cutter mechanism, substanz5 tially as setlforth. y

3. The combinationwiththe cutter vhaving `its inner cutting edge arrangedlengthwise of the machine and the transverse guides inl which the cutter moves, of a longitudinal 3o gage bar arranged inwardly beyond the.inner ends of said guides, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the cutter-mechanism, of la gage bar connected therewith, and

gage rollers arranged on opposite sides of they A5. The combination with the wheeled main frame, of a transverse bar attached at its outer end to the main frame by a longitudinal pivot, a transversely moving cutter attached to the y4o vertically movable inner portion of said bar,

` tting edge on its inner side, and having its` front constructed with a concave cutting edge, substantially as setforth. t

8. TheV combination with the main-frame,

` of the bar and connecting of a transversely moving cutter curved in the direction of its movement,fand similarly curved transverse guides vin which the cutter moves, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination with the transversely moving cutter, of a clearing device secured thereto and moving back and forth therewith,V

moving cutte provided with a bracket on its rear end, of a .star wheel pivoted on said bracket and provided with a ratchet rim and apawl pivoted on said bracket and engaging with said rim, substantially'fas set forth.

12. The combination with the main frame and the transversely moving cutter,of a rock arm pivoted to the main frame and actuated by the cutter mechanism, and a clearing finger secured to said rock arm, substantially as set forth. V

13. The combination with the main frame, of a transverse supporting bar attached at its outer end to the main frame by a longitudinal pivot, transverse guides supported on said bar,.a longitudinal gage bar vattached to said bar beyond the inner ends of said guides, and an adjustable spring' connecting the inner end of rsaid bar with the main frame and supporting a greater or less portion of the weight .part-s, substantially as set forth.

14. The combination with the main frame, of a digger frame pivoted upon saidvfranie `and capable of vertical adjustment,,aml adjusting segment secured to the main frame and alocking device whereby the digger frame is secured on the segment in its adjusted position, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination with the main fratrie and the transversely moving cutter attached thereto, of a tongue connected with the main frame by a Vertical pivot, a shifting device whereby the tongue can be swung laterally on the main frame, and a digger frame attached to the rear end of the tongue, substantiallyas sety forth. l

Witness my hand this 4th day ot' March, 1892.

GEORGE ALBERT FARRALL.

Witnesses: D. W. SPENCER,

WARREN FARGO.

roo 

